He stood tallest among officers
PC Sharma
Very few police officers become legends in their own lifetime. KPS Gill was one such legend in a life filled with events critical for national security.
Possessing the dexterity of a chess player, Gill planned things meticulously, making him the tallest in stature among all Indian Police (pre-1947) and Indian Police Service cadres, surpassing many big names. Had he been given a chance, he would have made a difference to the situation in Kashmir.
Gill played a role leaving an indelible impact on events, be it in Assam or Punjab. It was 1967 when I (a 1966-batch IPS officer) was appointed as ASP, Shillong, and Gill was the SP. An agitation was brewing for a separate state of Meghalaya. We looked up to Gill to deal with the situation in which the entire population had turned up shouting slogans. “Don’t be tough with the protesters,” Gill had ordered. The agitation passed off peacefully. Assam was facing other agitations over language and illegal immigrants. Gill’s advice was: “Don’t use force, but be ready for tough actions.” However, when things came to a boil, force was used only to point out that no nonsense would be tolerated. During his stint in Assam, Gill never carried a weapon on himself.
I was in CBI, and visited Chandigarh after the assassination of Beant Singh. Though the CBI was probing the case, it was Gill’s inputs that led to identifying the assassin (Dilawar Singh, the human bomb).
He had a very humane side that also had humour in it. He knew the tastes and likes of all his juniors and stood by them. Gill had immense faith in police. He thought the force was better suited to maintain internal security and peace provided it was given the right leadership.
He may have lost out on his personal life due to his work as the DGP, Punjab, but kept it all to himself.
(The writer is ex-CBI chief)
